. >> the tailgating outside fiscal cliff deals is incredible. >> and the sad part, for the american people who are watching from the outside, is they don't realize how much of this theater getting to the deal. we know we have to have -- boehner's going to have to talk tough because it seem likes he's holding firm and the white house is holding firm and the left groups are going to flip and right groups are going to flip and it's going to be this dance, and then we'll get to a deal somehow. if you're saying okay, am i -- are my taxes going up on the 1st or not? >> they are. >> they are, one way or the other. people in the country the way they pay for christmas, focus groups heard this over and over, take out a loan to buy presents, against what they think they'll get back in tax returns to pay back that loan. for those people, all of this dance, we joke, and it is funny and ridiculously childish and high school, maybe junior high, it's scary for people on outside saying -- >> the personal approval rating is 9%, up to 11% now. >> let's also keep in mind, optics are part of this. person who h